Monday, February 27, 2017

Milktart – the do’s and don’ts!

Milktart – the
do’s and don’ts!

Milktart with Puff Pastry

There are however so many varieties of milktart and I get weekly emails
regarding the milktart.
Which pastry is best, do you add whipped egg whites or don’t you!
Do you pre-bake the pastry or not?
Do you add cinnamon to the milk or afterwards, questions, questions!
So, on Saturday morning I donned the old apron on and started working my way
through all the questions!

The Pastry
I tried two versions!
The first one, I made with a good quality shop-bought puff pastry.
The second I used a cottage cheese Pastry that I got from Retha Cronje in
Bloemfontein! We all loved the milktart with the cottage cheese pastry!
The pastry also flakes, although not as much as the puff pastry, but the
buttery, salty taste of the cottage cheese version was hard to beat.

Milktart with Cottage Cheese Pastry

The Filling

Some recipes ask to separate the egg yolks and egg whites, others not!
I tried both versions and to me I think it is a matter of personal preference.
The first option gives a lighter and more aerated result while the second
version is solid and bold…. almost a man’s kind of milktart!
So, if you want to enter your milktart in competition, separate your egg yolks
and whites, but if you want to steal your man’s heart, keep it simple!The Baking
Pre-bake or not, that is the big question!
How do you prevent a soggy bottom?
Most probably the best advice I was given came from Ambelene Fandamaly and
that is to always bake your milktart in a tin plate (blikbord).
The pastry puffs beautifully, the filling cooks perfectly and there is not a
soggy bottom to be seen anywhere.

Use a tin plate (Blikbord) and cut the pastry slightly bigger than the plate.
Spray the plate with Spray ‘n Cook and lay the pastry in it.
From the off cuts, cut a long strip of pastry and put around the egdes of the
pastry to create an extra layer of “puff”.
Pour milk, salt, sugar and butter in a pot and bring to the boil.
In the meantime, mix the eggs, vanilla essence and maizena to a smooth paste.
When milk starts to make bubbles, add the maizena mixture and stir until it is
thick and velvety.
Spoon the mixture into pastry case and bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry
is all puffed out. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve!

Mix the 3 ingredients and cover with cling film and refrigerate, preferably
overnight.
When you are ready to bake, roll out the pastry on a floured surface and cut
slightly bigger than your tin plate.
Use off cuts and cut a thin strip of pastry to put around the edges of the
pastry case.
It makes a beautiful layer puffed casing!

Place the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside.
2 egg whites
½ ml cream of tartar
25 ml sugar

Put these three ingredients in yet another medium bowl and set aside. Preheat
oven to 260 ° C.
The oven rack should be on the second level from the bottom.

Place the following in a saucepan
550 ml milk
10 ml butter
2 sticks cinnamon

Once the oven is hot, heat the milk, butter and cinnamon to a boil.
Turn off the heat.
Add the hot milk to the flour – and – milk mixture and stir until smooth.
Pour back into the saucepan and on a low heat, stir the milk mixture in the
saucepan until thick.
Pour milk mixture in the saucepan back into the bowl.
Remove cinnamon.
Stir in the egg yolk mixture.
Beat egg white mixture until just stiff, not too much because then it dries.
Fold egg white mixture into the filling.
Pour into pastry case, sprinkle lightly with ground cinnamon, if desired and
bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 200 ° C for 10 minutes.
If it’s too brown, place a piece of aluminium foil lightly on top with the
shiny side to the element.
Serve lukewarm.

Method
Separate eggs and mix egg yolks with sugar and butter.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until smooth.
Add the milk and buttermilk and mix thoroughly.
Whisk the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks and fold into the milk mixture.
Pour the mixture into prepared pie plate and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 45 minutes until set.
You can also make two smaller tarts

So, what is my verdict!
– If you are in a hurry and in need of a milktart fix, the crustless version
does not disappoint! It is creamy and delicious. It is also a big recipe, so
you can share and have seconds.
-I prefer the milktart filling where you add the stiff egg whites afterwards.
It just looks better and still tastes delish!
-I know it is a little effort, but the cottage cheese pastry to me is tops.
I like the texture and slightly saltiness it has!